I can't advise what you should take with ibuprofen as I'm not qualified. However I can share my experience of pain relief so far. I am newly diagnosed too (August 2011). At first my GP just prescribed co-codamol 8mg x 2 tablets per dose. This was HOPELESS and didn't touch the pain. Then I got co-codamol 30 mg x 2 tablets per dose. This was slightly better but did not allow me to sleep with my agonisingly painful shoulders and made me feel a bit spaced out at work. I then got the medium dose of co-codamol (15mg x 2) as a happy medium. I was finding the pain too bad to sleep through though and that's really hard when you're trying to get up for work in the mornings so I was prescribed Tramadol for this. I found it took some getting used to as it is quite strong but it really does help when the pain is severe and allows me to sleep through. I was also prescribed codeine without the paracetamol so that I can top up the co-codamol without overdosing on the paracetamol element. All these drugs allow me to mix and match according to my needs at the time and have helped me to feel more in control of the illness. I know that there are medications that you shouldn't mix together and each patient is different so you need professional advice about what will work for you. I hope this helps. Keep us posted.
best wishes and good luck from Naomi.

Thanks very much.

Hi Fiona

Could I suggest that you go to see your GP and explain just how much pain you are in? There are many pain relief meds out there and your GP will know better than we can which one/ones may help you.

I take co-codamol 500/30 and Tramadol when needed. It is important to take the pain relief every four hours (or whatever is prescribed) and not just when you feel you need it. That way, it remains in your system.

I wish you all the luck in the world with MTX - it has certainly helped me enormously - but it can take up to 12 weeks to really kick in.

Love Jeanxxxx